Zamboanga fighting may have stopped but evacuees’ struggles continue—ICRC
A Government trooper rests amidst the ruins at the site of a three-week intense fighting between Government forces and Muslim rebels who have taken nearly 200 people hostages and used them as human shields, Saturday Sept. 28, 2013 in Zamboanga city, southern Philippines. AP FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines – Fighting may have stopped, but the struggle of the evacuees of the 2013 siege in Zamboanga continues.
A year after the conflict ended, around 40, 000 of the 120, 000 individuals in Mindanao “remain displaced and living in difficult conditions,” the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said.
ICRC said the victims remained in evacuation centers, transitional sites, or were being hosted by relatives.
ICRC delegate in Zamboanga Gareth Gleed in a video discussed the ongoing efforts of the organization to improve the situation and condition of those who have been displaced people.
Gleed said the ICRC response to the crisis was being done in two phases.
Article continues after this advertisementHe said the first phase undertaken by the ICRC was the immediate emergency response during the crisis and the second phase was the extension of its humanitarian assistance during the recovery phase.
Article continues after this advertisementGleed, however, lamented on the slow humanitarian assistance in the affected areas.
“We are now a year after the conflict, the end of hostilities and there has not yet been sufficient investment in providing the displaced community with the opportunity to determine our own future, to rebuild our livelihoods, to rebuild our communities,” he said.
“A lot of the needs that were identified in the immediate aftermath of the conflict still remain very present today,” he added.
On Sept. 9, 2013, clashes broke out between a faction of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and government forces in Zamboanga City.
Residents woke up to a firefight as armed men took 198 as hostages and used as human shields by the rebels in their escape.
The fighting left 20 soldiers and five policemen dead, and wounded 194 others.
Also 208 MNLF members were killed, including their leader Habier Malik, while 294 others were captured. Twelve civilians were killed, including four hostages, while 79 residents were wounded.
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